Operation method for gamma voltage according to display area and electronic device supporting same

ABSTRACT

An operation method and an electronic device supporting the same are provided. The operation method includes receiving, by a display driver integrated circuit (IC), display data from a processor and supplying, by the display driver IC, a second gamma signal set to display a luminance of a second magnitude greater than a first magnitude to a second display area having a second pixel arrangement density lower than a first pixel arrangement density, while supplying a first gamma signal set to display a luminance of the first magnitude to a first display area disposed at the first pixel arrangement density in a display panel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation application, claiming priority under§ 365(c), of an International application No. PCT/KR2021/000540, filedon Jan. 14, 2021, which is based on and claims the benefit of a Koreanpatent application number 10-2020-0013978, filed on Feb. 5, 2020, in theKorean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The disclosure relates to operation for a gamma voltage according to adisplay area.

2. Description of Related Art

An electronic device includes a display for displaying information.Recently, it has focused on ways to enlarge a display area. Thus, amethod in which a camera or sensor disposed in the front is disposed ina lower portion of the display has been studied. However, when thecamera is disposed in the lower portion of the display, the signaldelivered to the camera may cause a loss, while passing through thedisplay. Due to this, there is a problem in which the camera disposed inthe lower portion of the display does not provide resolution with acertain magnitude or more. To address it, a method for making up a pixelarrangement density of the area in which the camera is disposed to bedifferent from another area.

The above information is presented as background information only toassist with an understanding of the disclosure. No determination hasbeen made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the abovemight be applicable as prior art with regard to the disclosure.

SUMMARY

When a pixel arrangement density of a display area in which a sensorsuch as a camera is disposed in a lower portion of the display isdifferent from a pixel arrangement density of another area adjacent tothe display area, there is a problem in which a visual difference occurswhen displaying the same image.

Aspects of the disclosure are to address at least the above-mentionedproblems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantagesdescribed below. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to providean operation method for a gamma voltage according to a display area todisplay the same or similar image although there are pixel arrangementdensities by changing a gamma voltage applied according to a displayarea and an electronic device supporting the same.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may belearned by practice of the presented embodiments.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, an electronic device isprovided. The electronic device includes a display panel including afirst display area and a second display area, the first display areaincluding subpixels distributed at a first density and the seconddisplay area including subpixels distributed at a second density lowerthan the first density, and a display driver integrated circuit (IC)associated with driving the display panel. The display driver IC mayinclude a gamma generator that supplies a gamma signal to source linesarranged in the first display area and an extra gamma generator thatsupplies a gamma signal to source lines arranged in the second displayarea and the first display area. The extra gamma generator may beconfigured to supply, to the second display area, a gamma signal set tohave a relatively higher luminance value than a gamma signal supplied tothe first display area.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, an operation methodfor a gamma voltage according to a display area is provided. Theoperation method includes receiving, by a display driver IC, displaydata from a processor and supplying, by the display driver IC, a secondgamma signal set to display a luminance of a second magnitude greaterthan a first magnitude to a second display area having a second pixelarrangement density lower than a first pixel arrangement density, whilesupplying a first gamma signal set to display a luminance of the firstmagnitude to a first display area disposed at the first pixelarrangement density in a display panel.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the variousembodiments may suitably perform image display by selectively operatinga gamma voltage depending on a display area.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various embodiments of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certainembodiments of the disclosure will be more apparent from the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a drawing schematically illustrating a configuration of anelectronic device including a display driver integrated circuit (IC)according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a pixel arrangement shape of display areas of adisplay panel according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating a display driver IC according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating an example of some components of adisplay panel and a display driver IC according to an embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating an example of some components of adisplay panel and a display driver IC according to an embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating an example of some components of adisplay panel and a display driver IC according to an embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 7 is a drawing illustrating an example of some components of adisplay driver IC according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a drawing illustrating another example of some components of adisplay driver IC according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a drawing illustrating an example of an output of a sourcedriver according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a drawing illustrating an example of a display panelincluding various shapes of second display areas according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a drawing illustrating an example where an extra gammadriving unit is disposed at a left side in a display driver IC accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a drawing illustrating an example where an extra gammadriving unit is disposed in the center in a display driver IC accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a drawing illustrating an example where an extra gammadriving unit is disposed at a right side in a display driver ICaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a drawing illustrating an example where an extra gammadriving unit is disposed at various locations in a display driver ICaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a drawing illustrating an example of driving of a displaypanel according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device in anetwork environment according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbersare used to depict the same or similar elements, features, andstructures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description with reference to accompanying drawings isprovided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of variousembodiments of the disclosure as defined by the claims and theirequivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in thatunderstanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary.Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatvarious changes and modifications of the various embodiments describedherein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of thedisclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions andconstructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are notlimited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by theinventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of thedisclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in theart that the following description of various embodiments of thedisclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for thepurpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims andtheir equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes referenceto one or more of such surfaces.

In the disclosure, the expressions “have,” “may have,” “include” and“comprise,” or “may include” and “may comprise” used herein indicateexistence of corresponding features (e.g., components such as numericvalues, functions, operations, or parts) but do not exclude presence ofadditional features.

In the disclosure, the expressions “A or B,” “at least one of A or/andB,” or “one or more of A or/and B,” and the like may include any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items. For example,the term “A or B,” “at least one of A and B,” or “at least one of A orB” may refer to all of the case (1) where at least one A is included,the case (2) where at least one B is included, or the case (3) whereboth of at least one A and at least one B are included.

The terms, such as “first,” “second,” and the like used in thedisclosure may be used to refer to various components regardless of theorder and/or the priority and to distinguish the relevant componentsfrom other components, but do not limit the components. For example, “afirst user device” and “a second user device” indicate different userdevices regardless of the order or priority. For example, withoutdeparting the scope of the disclosure, a first component may be referredto as a second component, and similarly, a second component may bereferred to as a first component.

It will be understood that when an element (for example, a firstelement) is referred to as being “(operatively or communicatively)coupled with/to” or “connected to” another element (for example, asecond element), it can be directly coupled with/to or connected to theother element or an intervening element (for example, a third element)may be present. In contrast, when an element (for example, a firstelement) is referred to as being “directly coupled with/to” or “directlyconnected to” another element (for example, a second element), it shouldbe understood that there are no intervening element (for example, athird element).

According to the situation, the expression “configured to” used hereinmay be used as, for example, the expression “suitable for,” “having thecapacity to,” “designed to,” “adapted to,” “made to,” or “capable of”The term “configured to (or set to)” must not mean only “specificallydesigned to” in hardware. Instead, the expression “a device configuredto” may mean that the device is “capable of” operating together withanother device or other components. For example, a “processor configuredto (or set to) perform A, B, and C” may mean a dedicated processor(e.g., an embedded processor) for performing a corresponding operationor a generic-purpose processor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) oran application processor) which may perform corresponding operations byexecuting one or more software programs which are stored in a memorydevice.

Terms used in this specification are used to describe specifiedembodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe disclosure. The terms of a singular form may include plural formsunless otherwise specified. Unless otherwise defined herein, all theterms used herein, which include technical or scientific terms, may havethe same meaning that is generally understood by a person skilled in theart. It will be further understood that terms, which are defined in adictionary and commonly used, should also be interpreted as is customaryin the relevant related art and not in an idealized or overly formaldetect unless expressly so defined herein in various embodiments of thedisclosure. In some cases, even if terms are terms which are defined inthe specification, they may not be interpreted to exclude embodiments ofthe disclosure.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the disclosuremay include at least one of smartphones, tablet personal computers(PCs), mobile phones, video telephones, electronic book readers, desktopPCs, laptop PCs, netbook computers, workstations, servers, personaldigital assistants (PDAs), portable multimedia players (PMPs), MP3players, mobile medical devices, cameras, and wearable devices.According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the wearable devicesmay include accessories (for example, watches, rings, bracelets, anklebracelets, glasses, contact lenses, or head-mounted devices (HMDs)),cloth-integrated types (for example, electronic clothes), body-attachedtypes (for example, skin pads or tattoos), or implantable types (forexample, implantable circuits).

In some embodiments, the electronic device may be a smart homeappliance. The smart home appliance may include at least one of, forexample, a TV, a DVD player, an audio, a refrigerator, an airconditioner, a cleaner, an oven, a microwave oven, a washing machine, anair cleaner, a set-top box, a home automation control panel, a securitycontrol panel, a TV box (e.g., Samsung HomeSync™, Apple TV™, or GoogleTV™), a game console (e.g., Xbox™, PlayStation™), an electronicdictionary, an electronic key, a camcorder, or an electronic pictureframe.

In another embodiment, the electronic device may include at least one ofvarious medical devices (e.g., various portable medical measurementdevices (a blood glucose measuring device, a heart rate measuringdevice, a blood pressure measuring device, or a body temperaturemeasuring device), magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), magneticresonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), a scanner, or anultrasonic device), a navigation device, a global positioning system(GPS) receiver, an event data recorder (EDR), a flight data recorder(FDR), a vehicle infotainment device, electronic equipment for vessels(e.g., a navigation system or a gyrocompass), avionics, a securitydevice, a head unit for a vehicle, an industrial or home robot, anautomatic teller machine (ATM), a point of sales (POS) of a store, or anInternet of things (IoT) device (e.g., a bulb, various sensors, anelectric or gas meter, a sprinkler, a fire alarm, a thermostat, astreetlamp, a toaster, exercise equipment, a hot water tank, a heater,or a boiler).

According to various embodiments, the electronic device may include atleast one of a part of furniture or a building/structure, an electronicboard, an electronic signature receiving device, a projector, or ameasuring instrument (e.g., a water meter, an electricity meter, a gasmeter, or a wave meter). In various embodiments, the electronic devicemay be one or more combinations of the above-mentioned devices. Invarious embodiments, the electronic device may be a flexible device. Theelectronic device according to the disclosure is not limited to theabove-mentioned devices, and may include new electronic devices with thedevelopment of technology.

Hereinafter, electronic devices according to an embodiment of thedisclosure will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. The term “user” used herein may refer to a person who uses anelectronic device or may refer to a device (e.g., an artificialelectronic device) that uses an electronic device.

FIG. 1 is a drawing schematically illustrating a configuration of anelectronic device including a display driver IC according to anembodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 2 illustrates a pixel arrangementshape of display areas of a display panel according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, an electronic device 100 may include a processor140 (e.g., an application processor (AP)), a display driver integratedcircuit (IC) (DDI) 200, and a display panel 160. The electronic device100 may be implemented as, for example, a portable electronic device.According to various embodiments, the display driver IC 200 and thedisplay panel 160 may be implemented as a separate (or external) displaydevice (or display module) except for the processor 140. As the displaypanel 160 includes display areas with different pixel arrangementdensities and supplies different gamma voltages (or gamma tap voltages)depending on the display areas, the electronic device 100 of theabove-mentioned components may assist in displaying an image of the samecolor or the same luminance as an adjacent area although there are thedifferent pixel arrangement densities.

The display panel 160 may display display data by the display driver IC200. According to an embodiment, the display panel 160 may beimplemented as a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD)panel, a light emitting diode (LED) display panel, an organic LED (OLED)display panel, an active-matrix OLED (AMOLED) display panel, or aflexible display panel.

For example, in the display panel 160, gate lines and source lines maybe arranged to be crossed in the form of a matrix. A gate signal may besupplied to the gate lines. According to an embodiment, a gate signalmay be sequentially supplied to the gate lines. According to variousembodiments, a first gate signal may be supplied to odd-numbered gatelines among the gate lines, and a second gate signal may be supplied toeven-numbered gate lines among the gate lines. The first gate signal andthe second gate signal may include signals which are alternatelysupplied. Alternatively, after the first gate signal is sequentiallysupplied from a start line of the odd-numbered gate lines to an end lineof the odd-numbered gate lines, the second gate signal may besequentially supplied from a start line of the even-numbered gate linesto an end line of the even-numbered gate lines. A signal correspondingto display data may be supplied to the source lines. The signalcorresponding to the display data may be supplied from a source driverunder control of a timing controller of a logic circuit.

Referring to FIG. 2, a display panel 160 may include a first displayarea 161 and a second display area 162, which have different pixelarrangement densities. For example, the first display area 161 mayinclude an area where pixels are consecutively arranged in neighboringpixel arrangement subareas (or an area where pixels are consecutivelyarranged in subareas in the form of a matrix or an area where all ofcertain pixel groups (e.g., red, green, blue (RGB) or red, green, green,blue (RGGB)) are respectively arranged in subareas in the form of amatrix). In the first display area 161, subpixels in the form of Pentilemay be arranged in one pixel arrangement subarea (e.g., one rectangularsubarea) or subpixels in the form of an RGB layout may be arranged inone pixel arrangement subarea, depending on a characteristic of thedisplay panel 160. The second display area 162 may have a pixelarrangement density different from the first display area 161. Forexample, in the second display area 162, pixels may be arranged at acertain distance in pixel arrangement subareas in the form of a matrix.For example, a pixel (e.g., Red, Green, Blue, Green (RGBG) or Red,Green, Blue (RGB)) may be disposed in one pixel arrangement subareaevery four pixel arrangement subareas, and a pixel may not be disposedin the other three pixel arrangement subareas to be empty. According tovarious embodiments, the second display area 162 may include a pluralityof pixel arrangement subareas. Pixels may be intermittently arrangedirregularly (or randomly) or according to a specified pattern in theplurality of pixel arrangement subareas. The second display area 162 mayinclude, for example, an area of a size corresponding to at least onesensor area disposed on a front surface of the electronic device 100.According to an embodiment, the second display area 162 may include anarea in which a camera is disposed in a lower portion of the displaypanel 160 (e.g., an area corresponding to a camera size or an areacorresponding to an image sensor unit which receives a signal associatedwith an image in the camera). Alternatively, the second display area 162may include a size of at least a partial area corresponding to an areain which structures such as a fingerprint sensor or an iris sensor, amicrophone, and a speaker are arranged in the lower portion of thedisplay panel 160. There may be the at least one second display area 162in various areas of the display panel 160. For example, the seconddisplay area 162 may be formed in an area such as a right upper side, anupper center, a left upper side, a right lower side, a lower center, ora left lower side of the display panel 160. According to variousembodiments, patterns of subpixels arranged in the first display area161 and the second display area 162 may be configured to be the same aseach other or may be configured to be different from each other. Forexample, when subpixels are arranged in an RGBG pattern in the firstdisplay area 161, subpixels may be arranged in the RGBG pattern in thesecond display area 162. In this state, in the second display area 162,subpixels in the RGBG pattern may be arranged in some of the pluralityof pixel arrangement subareas. Alternatively, when subpixels arearranged in an RGBG (or RGB) pattern in the first display area 161,subpixels may be arranged in the RGB (or RGBG) pattern in the seconddisplay area 162. In this state, in the second display area 162,subpixels in the RGB pattern may be arranged in some of the plurality ofpixel arrangement subareas.

The processor 140 may control the overall operation of the electronicdevice 100. According to an embodiment, the processor 140 may beimplemented with an integrated circuit, a system on chip, or a mobileAP. The processor 140 may transmit data to be displayed (e.g., imagedata, moving image data, or still image data as display data) to thedisplay driver IC 200. According to an embodiment, the display data maybe divided in units of line data corresponding to a horizontal line (orvertical line) of the display panel 160. The processor 140 may deliver acontrol signal for differently controlling an operation form of a gammagenerator of the display panel 160 depending on a display area to thedisplay driver IC 200. Alternatively, the processor 140 may deliver acontrol signal for controlling operations of gamma generators designedto supply different gamma voltages to display areas for each displayarea to the display driver IC 200.

According to various embodiments, the processor 140 may control thesupplying of a gamma voltage (or a gamma tap voltage) to be supplied tothe first display area 161 of the display panel 160 (e.g., an area wherepixels are arranged in the form of a matrix while being adjacent to eachother) and the second display area 162. For example, the processor 140may control the displaying of a screen on the second display area 162with a relatively low pixel arrangement density to be performed to bethe same as the first display area 161, in conjunction with display dataof content output to the first display area 161 and the second displayarea 162. For example, when content (or an image or an object) with thesame color and luminance should be displayed over the first display area161 and the second display area 162, because the pixel arrangementdensities are different from each other, content output to the firstdisplay area 161 and content output to the second display area 162 maydiffer in display form from each other. The processor 140 may controlthe adjustment of a gamma signal (e.g., at least one of an analog gammavoltage and a digital gamma voltage) of display data corresponding tocontent output to the second display area 162, such that content (or animage or an object) with the same color and luminance is displayed overthe first display area 161 and the second display area 162, with regardto the pixel arrangement densities of the first display area 161 and thesecond display area 162. Herein, the processor 140 may control to adjusta gamma signal (e.g., adjust only the analog gamma voltage or adjust theanalog gamma voltage and the digital gamma voltage together) dependingon a gray level of content to be output to the second display area 162.

The display driver IC 200 may change data provided from the processor140 into a form capable of being transmitted to the display panel 160and may transmit the changed data to the display panel 160. The changeddata may be supplied on a pixel-by-pixel basis (or on asubpixel-by-subpixel basis). Herein, a pixel may have a structure inwhich subpixels Red, Green, and Blue are arranged adjacent to eachother, in conjunction with displaying a specified color. One pixel mayinclude RGB subpixels (RGB stripe layout structure) or may include RGBGsubpixels (Pentile layout structure). Herein, an arrangement structureof the RGBG subpixels may be replaced with an arrangement structure ofRGGB subpixels. Alternatively, the pixel may be replaced with anarrangement structure of red, green, blue, white (RGBW) subpixels.

According to an embodiment, the display driver IC 200 may process piecesof display data supplied to the display panel 160 on a pixel-by-pixelbasis depending on the display area. For example, the display driver IC200 may include a gamma generator for supplying a gamma tap voltage tothe first display area 161 in response to control of the processor 140and an extra gamma generator for supplying a gamma tap voltage to thesecond display area 162 and may control each gamma generator to generatea signal.

According to various embodiments, the display driver IC 200 may generatea gamma voltage (or a gamma tap voltage) to be supplied to subpixelsarranged in the second display area 162 using some of gamma generatorswhich supply a gamma tap voltage to the first display area 161. In thiscase, the display driver IC 200 may differently control a specific gammagenerator among the gamma generators to generate a gamma voltage.

FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating a display driver IC according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, a display driver IC 200 may include aninterface circuit 201, a logic circuit 202, a graphic memory 203, a datalatch 205 (or a shift register), a source driver 206, a gate driver 207,a gamma generator 208, and an extra gamma generator 209.

The interface circuit 201 may interface signals or data transmitted andreceived between a processor 140 and the display driver IC 200. Theinterface circuit 201 may interface line data transmitted from theprocessor 140 to transmit the line data to a graphic memory writecontroller of the logic circuit 202. According to an embodiment, theinterface circuit 201 may be an interface associated with a serialinterface such as a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI®), amobile display digital interface (MDDI), a displayport, or an embeddeddisplayport (eDP).

The logic circuit 202 may include a graphic memory write controller, atiming controller, a graphic memory read controller, an image processingunit, a source shift register controller, and a data shift register.

The graphic memory write controller of the logic circuit 202 may controlan operation of receiving line data from the interface circuit 201 andwriting the received line data in the graphic memory 203.

The timing controller may supply a synchronizing signal and/or a clocksignal to each component (e.g., a graphic memory read controller) of thedisplay driver IC 200. Furthermore, the timing controller may transmit aread command (RCMD) for controlling a read operation of the graphicmemory 203 to the graphic memory read controller. The timing controllermay control the source driver 206 to supply display data. Furthermore,the timing controller may control the gate driver 207 to output a gatesignal. For example, the timing controller may control the gate driver207 to sequentially supply a gate signal to gate signal lines of thedisplay panel 160. Alternatively, the timing controller may control thegate driver 207 to separately output a gate signal to odd-numbered linesand even-numbered lines of the gate signal lines of the display panel160.

According to an embodiment, the timing controller may control a digitalgamma voltage to be generated and delivered according to a display area.For example, the timing controller may control the gamma generator 208to generate a signal to generate a gamma voltage to be supplied to afirst display area 161. Alternatively, the timing controller may controlthe extra gamma generator 209 to generate a signal to generate a gammavoltage (or a gamma tap voltage) to be supplied to a second display area162. In the above-mentioned operation, the timing controller may controla source amplifier, the gamma generator 208, and the extra gammagenerator 209 to control (e.g., time division driving) an output timingof the source amplifier to supply a gamma voltage to be supplied to acorresponding subpixel to a decoder associated with the correspondingsubpixel.

According to an embodiment, the processor 140 or the timing controllermay control supply timings of digital gamma voltages associated withrespective subpixels, in a process of generating a gamma voltage basedon circuit elements corresponding to a subpixel specified by the gammagenerator 208 and delivering the generated gamma voltage to the decoder.Alternatively, the processor 140 or the timing controller may controlthe generated gamma voltage to be delivered to source amplifiers throughrespective decoders, in response to a specified subpixel at a specifiedtiming. In this operation, the timing controller may control an outputtiming of the source amplifier by time division to generate an output ofthe source amplifier, based on a digital gamma voltage corresponding todisplay data for each subpixel, and control the generated output to besupplied to the corresponding subpixel.

The graphic memory read controller may perform a read operation for linedata stored in the graphic memory 203. According to an embodiment, thegraphic memory read controller may perform a read operation for all orsome of the line data stored in the graphic memory 203, based on a readcommand (RCMD) for line data. The graphic memory read controller maytransmit all or some of line data read from the graphic memory 203 tothe image processing unit. The graphic memory write controller and thegraphic memory read controller are described as being independent ofeach other for convenience of description. However, the graphic memorywrite controller and the graphic memory read controller may beimplemented as one graphic memory controller.

The image processing unit may improve image quality by processing all ofline data transmitted from the graphic memory read controller or some ofthe line data. Display data, the image quality of which is improved, maybe delivered to the timing controller. The timing controller may deliverthe display data to the source driver 206 through the data latch 205.The image processing unit may include a first gamma voltage table fordriving the first display area 161 and a second gamma voltage table fordriving the second display area 162. Alternatively, the timingcontroller may include a first gamma voltage table for driving the firstdisplay area 161 and a second gamma voltage table for driving the seconddisplay area 162.

The source shift register controller may control a data shiftingoperation of the data shift register. According to an embodiment, thesource shift register controller may perform control such as line datawrite of the graphic memory 203 or image preprocessing of the imageprocessing unit in response to an instruction received from theprocessor 140.

The data shift register may shift display data transmitted through thesource shift register controller, under control of the source shiftregister controller. The data shift register may sequentially transmitthe shifted display data to the data latch 205.

The graphic memory 203 may store line data input through the graphicmemory write controller, under control of the graphic memory writecontroller. The graphic memory 203 may operate as a buffer memory in thedisplay driver IC 200. According to an embodiment, the graphic memory203 may include a graphic random access memory (GRAM).

The data latch 205 may store display data sequentially provided from thedata shift register. The data latch 205 may transmit the stored displaydata to the source driver 206 in units of a horizontal line of thedisplay panel 160.

The source driver 206 may transmit line data, transmitted from the datalatch 205, to the display panel 160. According to an embodiment, thesource driver 206 may include a plurality of source amplifiers connectedwith subpixels (or for each channel corresponding to the subpixel). Thesource amplifiers included in the source driver 206 may operate in timedivision to supply a signal to respective subpixels. According to anembodiment, the source amplifiers included in the source driver 206 maybe connected with a plurality of subpixels of the same type or differenttypes. In the structure of the display panel 160 including an RGB pixel,the source driver 206 may include source amplifiers connected for eachsubpixel (e.g., an R subpixel, a G subpixel, or a B subpixel).

The source driver 206 may include a plurality of decoders connected withinput terminals of source amplifiers with which subpixels are connected.The decoder may be connected with output terminals of the gammagenerator 208, the extra gamma generator 209, and the logic circuit 202and may decode (or multiply) display data delivered from the logiccircuit 202 and gamma voltages provided by the gamma generator 208 andthe extra gamma generator 209. Respective decoder outputs may beconnected with respective source amplifiers. A decoder connected withsource amplifiers allocated to the first display area 161 among theplurality of decoders included in the source driver 206 may select agamma voltage corresponding to one of a first number of gray values(e.g., 256, when display data consists of 8 bits).

A decoder connected with source amplifiers arranged to supply a signalto the second display area 162 among the plurality of decoders includedin the source driver 206 may select a gamma voltage corresponding to oneof a second number of gray values (e.g., a number greater than the firstnumber). For example, a decoder connected with source amplifiersarranged to supply a signal to the second display area 162 may selectone of 256 gray values capable of being supplied to the first displayarea 161 disposed below a plane such as the second display area 162 anda certain number of gray values to be supplied to the second displayarea 162.

A certain number of gray values to be supplied to the second displayarea 162 may have, for example, a number of gray values less than 256gray values, which may have a gamma voltage of a magnitude differentfrom 256 gray values to be supplied to the first display area 161.Alternatively, a gamma voltage of a magnitude different from a gammavoltage supplied to a subpixel of the first display area 161 may besupplied to a subpixel of the second display area 162. For example, afirst gamma voltage magnitude of 256 gray levels which are a maximumbrightness value of a signal (e.g., any one of R, G, or B) to besupplied to the first display area 161 and a second gamma voltage levelof 256 gray levels which are a maximum brightness value of a signal(e.g., any one of R, G, or B) to be supplied to the second display area162 may be different from each other. According to an embodiment, thesecond gamma voltage magnitude may be N times (where N is a real number,float) the first gamma voltage magnitude. Alternatively, the first gammavoltage magnitude and the second gamma voltage magnitude may bedifferent from each other according to a difference between a pixelarrangement density of the second display area 162 and a pixelarrangement density of the first display area 161.

According to various embodiments, the first gamma voltage magnitude tobe supplied to the first display area 161 in a low gray area (e.g., 1 to100 gray values) which is relatively low and the second gamma voltagemagnitude to be supplied to the second display area 162 may be the sameas or similar to each other. According to an embodiment, the first gammavoltage magnitude to be supplied to the first display area 161 in a highgray area (e.g., 101 or more gray values) which is relatively high andthe second gamma voltage magnitude to be supplied to the second displayarea 162 may be set different from each other (e.g., the second gammavoltage magnitude in the high gray area may be set to be greater thanthe first gamma voltage magnitude).

According to various embodiments, a difference between the first gammavoltage magnitude and the second gamma voltage magnitude may varydepending on ambient illumination intensity. In this regard, a lookuptable or a gamma voltage table (basically including a first gammavoltage table to be applied to the first display area 161 and a secondgamma voltage table to be applied to the second display area 162)corresponding to a gamma voltage curve disposed in at least one of thetiming controller or the image processing unit may be stored as aplurality of tables (e.g., tables corresponding to another gamma voltagecurve for each display area and each external illumination intensity) inunits of certain external illumination intensity. The processor 140 maydetermine whether to use any gamma voltage table, depending on externalillumination intensity, and may supply a control signal according to itto the display driver IC 200.

The gate driver 207 may drive gate lines of the display panel 160. Thegate driver 207 may sequentially supply a gate signal to the gate linesof the display panel 160 under control of the logic circuit 202.Alternatively, the gate driver 207 may divide the gate lines of thedisplay panel 160 into odd-numbered lines or even-numbered lines undercontrol of the logic circuit 202 and may supply a gate signal to each ofthe divided lines. In this regard, the gate driver 207 may include aplurality of gate drivers (e.g., a left gate driver and a right gatedriver). As described above, as operations of pixels implemented in thedisplay panel 160 are controlled by the source driver 206 and the gatedriver 207, display data (or an image corresponding to the display data)input from the processor 140 may be displayed on the display panel 160.

The gamma generator 208 may generate and supply a gamma voltage (or agamma tap voltage) associated with adjusting a luminance of the displaypanel 160 based on circuit elements for each subpixel. The gammagenerator 208 may generate a gamma signal corresponding to at least oneof a first color (e.g., red), a second color (e.g., green), or a thirdcolor (e.g., blue), for example, an analog gamma voltage and may supplythe generated analog gamma voltage to the source driver 206. The analoggamma voltage may be generated based on a first gamma voltage curvewhich is stored in response to a specified color. According to anembodiment, the gamma generator 208 may generate an analog gamma voltageto be supplied to the first display area 161 based on the first gammavoltage curve and may supply the generated analog gamma voltage todecoders. In this regard, the gamma generator 208 may generate andsupply a gamma voltage for each subpixel to be supplied to the firstdisplay area 161 in the form of time division to the source driver 206in response to control of the logic circuit 202. For example, the gammagenerator 208 may generate a gamma voltage to be supplied to eachsubpixel disposed on the first display area 161 every one horizontalsynchronization (Hsync) period and may supply the generated gammavoltage to the source driver 206. A length of one horizontalsynchronization (Hsync) period may vary depending on a driving frequencyvalue of the display panel 160.

The extra gamma generator 209 may generate and supply a gamma voltage(or a gamma tap voltage) associated with adjusting a luminance of thedisplay panel 160 based on circuit elements for each subpixel disposedon the second display area 162. Alternatively, the extra gamma generator209 may generate a common analog gamma voltage to be supplied to thesecond display area 162 irrespective of a color and may supply it to thesource driver 206. At this time, the analog gamma voltage generated bythe extra gamma generator 209 may be generated based on a second gammavoltage curve which is stored in response to a specified color.According to an embodiment, the extra gamma generator 209 may generatean analog gamma voltage to be supplied to the second display area 162based on the second gamma voltage curve and may supply the generatedanalog gamma voltage to decoders. In this regard, the gamma generator209 may generate and supply a gamma voltage for each subpixel to besupplied to the second display area 162 in the form of time division tothe source driver 206 in response to control of the logic circuit 202.According to various embodiments, the analog gamma voltage to besupplied to the second display area 162 may be configured to begenerated and supplied by a gamma generator associated with any onesubpixel in the gamma generator 208.

FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating an example of some components of adisplay panel and a display driver IC according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4, some components of an electronic device 100 mayinclude a first display area 161 and a second display area 162 of aPentile layout (or type), a source driver 206, a gamma generator 208, anextra gamma generator 209, a first logic circuit 202 a, and a secondlogic circuit 202 b.

The first display area 161 of the Pentile type may include, for example,a display area in which a plurality of gate lines Gn, Gn+1, and Gn+2 andfour source lines Sn, Sn+1, Sn+2, and Sn+3 are crossed and arranged. Thedisplay panel 160 may further include a non-display area on which afirst source driver 206 a which supplies display data to the gate linesGn, Gn+1, and Gn+2 and the source lines Sn, Sn+1, Sn+2, and Sn+3 and agate driver 207 which supplies a gate signal are mounted. Alternatively,the above-mentioned display driver IC 200 may be disposed in thenon-display area of the display panel 160.

The gate lines Gn, Gn+1, and Gn+2 of the first display area 161 mayinclude, for example, the odd-numbered gate lines Gn and Gn+2 and theeven-numbered gate lines Gn+1. The odd-numbered gate lines Gn and Gn+2and the even-numbered gate lines Gn+1 may be alternately supplied with agate signal. According to an embodiment, in the odd-numbered gate linesGn and Gn+2, RGBG subpixels may form one pixel and may be repeatedlyarranged. In the even-numbered gate lines Gn+1, BGRG subpixels may formone pixel (or one subpixel group) and may be repeatedly arranged. Theabove-mentioned order of RGBG may be substantially the same pattern asBGRG, and a start order or a last order is differently disposed.

The source lines Sn, Sn+1, Sn+2, and Sn+3 may include the first channelSn in which a red subpixel and a blue subpixel are alternately arranged,the second channel Sn+1 in which first green subpixels are arranged, thethird channel Sn+2 in which a blue subpixel and a red subpixel arealternately arranged, and the fourth channel Sn+3 in which second greensubpixels are arranged. The above-mentioned source lines Sn, Sn+1, Sn+2,and Sn+3 may include a group of four subpixels included in one pixel.Pads connected with output terminals of amplifiers of the first sourcedriver 206 a may be arranged on one side of the first display area 161,for example, ends of the respective channels of the source lines Sn,Sn+1, Sn+2, and Sn+3.

The source driver 206 may include a first source driver 206 a forsupplying a signal to channels of the first display area 161 and asecond source driver 206 b for supplying a signal to channels of thesecond display area 162. Herein, the first source driver 206 a and thesecond source driver 206 b may be integrated into the one source driver206, which may be arranged in one body to be differently dividedaccording to an area which supplies a source signal. For example, thefirst source driver 206 a may include source driver elements whichsupply a signal to only the first display area 161, and the secondsource driver 206 b may include source driver elements which supply asource signal to the first display area 161 and the second display area162.

For example, the first source driver 206 a may include, for example, afirst amplifier 311 for supplying a signal to the first channel Sn amongthe source lines Sn, Sn+1, Sn+2, and Sn+3, a second amplifier 312 forsupplying a signal to the second channel Sn+1, a third amplifier 313 forsupplying a signal to the third channel Sn+2, and a fourth amplifier 314for supplying a signal to the fourth channel Sn+3. Furthermore, thefirst source driver 206 a may include a first switch 301 connected withan output terminal of the first amplifier 311, a second switch 302connected with an output terminal of the second amplifier 312, a thirdswitch 303 connected with an output terminal of the third amplifier 313,and a fourth switch 304 connected with an output terminal of the fourthamplifier 314. For example, a control signal of each of the switches maybe provided from, for example, a timing controller which receives acontrol signal of a processor 140. The first source driver 206 a mayinclude a first decoder 321 disposed at an input terminal of the firstamplifier 311, a second decoder 322 disposed at an input terminal of thesecond amplifier 312, a third decoder 323 disposed at an input terminalof the third amplifier 313, and a fourth decoder 324 disposed at aninput terminal of the fourth amplifier 314.

The first, second, third, and fourth decoders 321, 322, 323, and 324 mayreceive display data and a digital gamma value associated with drivingthe first display area 161 from the first logic circuit 202 a.Furthermore, the first, second, third, and fourth decoders 321, 322,323, and 324 may receive outputs of the gamma generator 208.

The gamma generator 208 may include, for example, a first gammagenerator 208 a for generating and supplying an analog gamma valueassociated with a color of a first subpixel (e.g., a red subpixel) tothe first decoder 321, a second gamma generator 208 c for generating andsupplying an analog gamma value associated with a color of a secondsubpixel and a fourth subpixel (e.g., a green subpixel) to the seconddecoder 322 and the fourth decoder 324, and a third gamma generator 208b for generating and supplying an analog gamma value associated with acolor of a third subpixel (e.g., a blue subpixel) to the third decoder323.

The logic circuit 202 may include a first logic circuit 202 a and asecond logic circuit 202 b. Meanwhile, the first logic circuit 202 a andthe second logic circuit 202 b may be divided by the first display area161 and the second display area 162, which supply display data anddigital gamma values, which may be configured as one integrated circuitor may be configured as two logic circuits. The first logic circuit 202a may supply display data to be supplied to the source lines Sn, Sn+1,Sn+2, Sn+3 to the first, second, third, and fourth decoders 321, 322,323, and 324 arranged for each channel One pixel (e.g., a group of RGBGsubpixels) is exemplified and described in the above-mentioneddescription. In the first display area 161 in which the plurality ofpixels are arranged, the first logic circuit 202 a may supply displaydata to source lines corresponding to the respective pixels.

The second display area 162 may include, for example, a display area inwhich a plurality of gate lines Gn, Gn+1, and Gn+2 and a plurality ofsource lines Sm, Sm+1, Sm+2, and Sm+3 are crossed and arranged. Thedisplay panel 160 may further include a non-display area on which asecond source driver 206 b which supplies display data to the gate linesGn, Gn+1, and Gn+2 and the source lines Sm, Sm+1, Sm+2, and Sm+3 and agate driver 207 which supplies a gate signal are mounted. Alternatively,the above-mentioned display driver IC 200 may be disposed in thenon-display area of the display panel 160. One logic circuit into whichthe first source driver 206 a and the second source driver 206 b areintegrated may be disposed in the non-display area of the display panel160. Furthermore, a first gate driver for driving odd-numbered gatelines and a second gate driver for driving even-numbered gate lines maybe arranged in the non-display area of the display panel 160.

The gate lines Gn, Gn2, and Gn+2 of the second display area 162 mayinclude, for example, the odd-numbered gate lines Gn and Gn+2 and theeven-numbered gate lines Gn+1 to be the same as the first display area161. The odd-numbered gate lines Gn and Gn+2 and the even-numbered gatelines Gn+1 may be alternately supplied with a gate signal to be the sameas the first display area 161. According to an embodiment, RGBGsubpixels may form one pixel and may be repeatedly arranged on theodd-numbered gate lines Gn and Gn+2 (or the even-numbered gate linesGn+1) in the second display area 162. In other words, separate pixelsmay not be arranged on some gate lines in the second display area 162.According to various embodiments, in the second display area 162,separate pixels may not be arranged on some source lines. According tovarious embodiments, an area where pixels are not alternately arrangedon some source lines and some gate lines may be included in the seconddisplay area 162.

The source lines Sm, Sm+1, Sm+2, and Sm+3 may include the fifth channelSm where red subpixels are alternately arranged, the sixth channel Sm+1where first green subpixels are arranged, the seventh channel Sm+2 whereblue subpixels are arranged, and the eighth channel Sm+3 where secondgreen subpixels are arranged. Herein, some subpixels may not be arrangedin the second display area 162 among the source lines Sm, Sm+1, Sm+2,and Sm+3, and subpixels may be arranged in the form of a matrix in thefirst display area 161 disposed below (or above) the second display area162. Pads connected with output terminals of amplifiers of the secondsource driver 206 b may be arranged on ends of the respective channelsof the source lines Sm, Sm+1, Sm+2, and Sm+3. Some of the source linesSm, Sm+1, Sm+2, and Sm+3 may be arranged in the second display area 162,and the others may be arranged in the first display area 161.

The second source driver 206 b may include, for example, a fifthamplifier 315 for supplying a signal to the fifth channel Sm among thesource lines Sm, Sm+1, Sm+2, and Sm+3, a sixth amplifier 316 forsupplying a signal to the sixth channel Sm+1, a seventh amplifier 317for supplying a signal to the seventh channel Sm+2, and an eighthamplifier 318 for supplying a signal to the eighth channel Sm+3.Furthermore, the second source driver 206 b may include a fifth switch305 connected with an output terminal of the fifth amplifier 315, asixth switch 306 connected with an output terminal of the sixthamplifier 316, a seventh switch 307 connected with an output terminal ofthe seventh amplifier 317, and an eighth switch 308 connected with anoutput terminal of the eighth amplifier 318. For example, a controlsignal of each of the switches may be provided from, for example, atiming controller which receives a control signal of the processor 140.The second source driver 206 b may include a fifth decoder 325 disposedat an input terminal of the fifth amplifier 315, a sixth decoder 326disposed at an input terminal of the sixth amplifier 316, a seventhdecoder 327 disposed at an input terminal of the seventh amplifier 317,and an eighth decoder 328 disposed at an input terminal of the eighthamplifier 318.

The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth decoders 325, 326, 327, and 328may receive display data and a digital gamma value associated withdriving the first display area 161 from the second display area 162 fromthe second logic circuit 202 b. Furthermore, the fifth, sixth, seventh,and eighth decoders 325, 326, 327, and 328 may receive outputs of thegamma generator 208 and outputs of an extra gamma generator 209.

The extra gamma generator 209 may generate, for example, an analog gammavalue (or an analog gamma voltage) associated with colors of subpixelsarranged in the second display area 162 and may supply the analog gammavalue (or the analog gamma voltage) to the fifth, sixth, seventh, andeighth decoders 325, 326, 327, and 328 in common. The analog gamma valuesupplied by the extra gamma generator 209 may include a gamma value setsuch that a brightness of the second display area 162 is the same as orsimilar to a brightness of the surrounding first display area 161.

The second logic circuit 202 b may supply display data and a digitalgamma value to be supplied to the source lines Sm, Sm+1, Sm+2, and Sm+3to the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth decoders 325, 326, 327, and 328arranged for each channel For example, the second logic circuit 202 bmay supply display data and a digital gamma value to be supplied to thesecond display area 162 to the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighthdecoders 325, 326, 327, and 328 arranged for each channel at a timingwhen a gate signal associated with driving the second display area 162is supplied. The second logic circuit 202 b may supply display data anda digital gamma value for driving the first display area 161 disposedbelow the second display area 162 to the fifth, sixth, seventh, andeighth decoders 325, 326, 327, and 328 arranged for each channel at atiming when a gate signal associated with driving the first display area161 disposed below the second display area 162 is supplied. The digitalgamma value associated with driving the second display area 162 and thedigital gamma value associated with driving the first display area 161may be different from each other, although there are the same sourcechannels.

The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth decoders 325, 326, 327, and 328may have input terminals capable of receiving 8-bit gray values suppliedfrom the gamma generator 208 and input terminals capable of receiving acertain number of gray values supplied from the extra gamma generator209. The extra gamma generator 209 may supply, for example, 256 grayvalues to the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth decoders 325, 326, 327,and 328 in common to be the same as the gamma generator 208.Alternatively, the gamma generator 208 may supply, for example, acertain number of gray values, for example, only 128 gray values to thefifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth decoders 325, 326, 327, and 328 incommon. The analog gamma value generated by the gamma generator 208 maybe generated based on a first gamma curve area G1 among illustratedgraphs. The analog gamma value generated by the extra gamma generator209 may be generated based on a second gamma curve area G2 among theillustrated graphs.

According to various embodiments, switches may be arranged at an outputterminal of the gamma generator 208. First, second, and third gammaoutput control switches 331, 332, and 333 may be arranged at outputterminals of first, second, and third gamma generator 208 a, 208 b, and208 c, respectively. A fourth gamma output control switch 334 may bedisposed at an output terminal of the extra gamma generator 209. Thefirst, second, third, and fourth gamma output control switches 331, 332,333, and 334 may be controlled by a timing controller. For example, whenthe second display area 162 is driven, the first, second, and thirdgamma output control switches 331, 332, and 333 may be turned off andthe fourth gamma output control switch 334 may be turned on. When thefirst display area 161 is driven, the first, second, and third gammaoutput control switches 331, 332, and 333 may be turned on and thefourth gamma output control switch 334 may be turned off.

FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating an example of some components of adisplay panel and a display driver IC according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, some components of an electronic device 100according to an embodiment may include a first display area 161, asecond display area 162, a source driver 206, a gamma generator 208, anextra gamma generator 209, a first logic circuit 202 a, and a secondlogic circuit 202 b. In the above-mentioned description, the firstdisplay area 161, the second display area 162, the source driver 206,the gamma generator 208, the first logic circuit 202 a, and the secondlogic circuit 202 b may be substantially the same as respectivecomponents described with reference to FIG. 4. The source driver 206 mayinclude a first source driver 206 a for receiving display data and adigital gamma value from the first logic circuit 202 a and a secondsource driver 206 b for receiving display data and a digital gamma valuefrom the second logic circuit 202 b. Alternatively, the first sourcedriver 206 a may include decoders and amplifiers, which supply a signalto source lines arranged in only the first display area 161, and thesecond source driver 206 b may include decoders and amplifiers, whichsupply a signal to source lines arranged in the second display area 162and the first display area 161.

A display panel 160 of the electronic device 100 may include, forexample, the first display area 161 having a first pixel arrangementdensity and the second display area 162 having a second pixelarrangement density. The first display area 161 may be disposed in, forexample, an area adjacent to the second display area 162. According toan embodiment, at least one gate line and at least one source linearranged in the second display area 162 may be connected with some gatelines and some source lines among gate lines and source lines, which arearranged in the first display area 161. For example, the second displayarea 162 and the first display area 161 may be arranged on source linesSm, Sm+1, Sm+2, and Sm+3.

The extra gamma generator 209 may include a first extra gamma generator209 a for supplying an analog gamma value to a fifth decoder 325connected with the fifth channel Sm where a red subpixel is arrangedamong the source lines Sm, Sm+1, Sm+2, and Sm+3 arranged in the seconddisplay area 162, a second extra gamma generator 209 c for supplying ananalog gamma value to a sixth decoder 326 and an eighth decoder 328respectively connected with the sixth channel Sm+1 where first greensubpixels are arranged and the eighth channel Sm+3 where second greensubpixels are arranged, and a third extra gamma generator 209 b forsupplying an analog gamma value to a seventh decoder 327 connected withthe seventh channel Sm+2 where a blue subpixel is disposed. Herein, somesubpixels may not be arranged in the second display area 162 among thesource lines Sm, Sm+1, Sm+2, and Sm+3, and subpixels may be arranged inthe form of a matrix in the first display area 161 disposed below (orabove) the second display area 162. Pads connected with output terminalsof amplifiers of the second source driver 206 b may be arranged on endsof the respective channels of the source lines (or the source channels)Sm, Sm+1, Sm+2, and Sm+3.

The first extra gamma generator 209 a may generate an analog gamma valueassociated with driving subpixels arranged in the second display area162 in the fifth channel Sm and may supply the analog gamma value to thefifth decoder 325 at a timing when the second display area 162 isdriven, for example, a timing when a gate signal is supplied to thesecond display area 162. The second extra gamma generator 209 c maygenerate an analog gamma value associated with driving subpixelsarranged in the second display area 162 among the sixth channel Sm+1 andthe eighth channel Sm+3. The second extra gamma generator 209 c maysupply the generated analog gamma value to the sixth decoder 326 and theeighth decoder 328 at a timing when a gate signal is supplied to thesecond display area 162. The third extra gamma generator 209 b maygenerate an analog gamma value associated with driving subpixelsarranged in the second display area 162 in the seventh channel Sm+2. Thethird extra gamma generator 209 b may supply the generated analog gammavalue to the seventh decoder 327 at a timing when a gate signal issupplied to the second display area 162. A value in which a specificpixel may emit relatively higher luminance may be generated by theanalog gamma values generated by the first, second, and third extragamma generators 209 a, 209 c, and 209 b than the analog gamma valuesgenerated by the first, second, and third gamma generators 208 a, 208 c,and 208 b. For example, the analog gamma value supplied by the extragamma generator 209 may include a gamma value set such that a brightnessof an area displaying the same content, for example, the second displayarea 162 is the same as or similar to a brightness of the surroundingfirst display area 161.

Outputs of the first gamma generator 208 a in the gamma generator 208and the first extra gamma generator 209 a may be supplied to the fifthdecoder 325. Furthermore, the second logic circuit 202 b may supplydisplay data to be supplied to the source lines Sm, Sm+1, Sm+2, and Sm+3to the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth 325, 326, 327, and 328. Thesecond logic circuit 202 b may respectively supply a digital gamma valuefor driving the second display area 162 of the fifth channel Sm, adigital gamma value for driving the second display area 162 of the sixthchannel Sm+1 and the eighth channel Sm+3, and a digital gamma value fordriving the second display area 162 of the seventh channel Sm+2 to thefifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth decoders 325, 326, 327, and 328.Furthermore, the second logic circuit 202 b may respectively supply adigital gamma value for driving the first display area 161 of the fifthchannel Sm, a digital gamma value for driving the first display area 161of the sixth channel Sm+1 and the eighth channel Sm+3, and a digitalgamma value for driving the first display area 161 of the seventhchannel Sm+2 to the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth decoders 325, 326,327, and 328. Herein, the digital gamma value supplied to each channelof the second display area 162 and the digital gamma value supplied toeach channel of the first display area 161 may be set to differentvalues with respect to the same content. For example, the digital gammavalue supplied to each channel of the second display area 162 mayinclude a value set to display the same content to be relativelybrighter than the digital gamma value supplied to each channel of thefirst display area 161.

Meanwhile, the shape where the first logic circuit 202 a for driving thedisplay panel where only the first display area 161 is disposed and thesecond logic circuit 202 b for driving the display panel where the firstdisplay area 161 and the second display area 162 are arranged aredivided is described as an example, but the disclosure is not limitedthereto. For example, the logic circuit may be physically provided asone component and may generate and supply signals required for each areaof the display panel 160. The digital gamma value associated with thesecond display area 162 and the digital gamma value associated withdriving the first display area 161 may be different from each other,although there are the same source channels.

According to various embodiments, additionally or alternatively,switches may be arranged between the output terminals of the first,second, and third extra gamma generators 209 a, 209 c, and 209 b and thefifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth decoders 325, 326, 327, and 328.Furthermore, switches may be arranged between the output terminal of thegamma generator 208 and the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth decoders325, 326, 327, and 328. The switches arranged between the gammagenerators and the decoders may separately operate in conjunction withdriving the first display area 161 and driving the second display area162. For example, in conjunction with driving the second display area162, the switches arranged between the output terminal of the gammagenerator 208 and the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth decoders 325,326, 327, and 328 may have a turn-off state and the switches between theoutput terminal of the extra gamma generator 209 and the fifth, sixth,seventh, and eighth decoders 325, 326, 327, and 328 may have a turn-onstate, under control of a timing controller. In conjunction with drivingthe first display area 161, the switches arranged between the outputterminal of the gamma generator 208 and the fifth, sixth, seventh, andeighth decoders 325, 326, 327, and 328 may have a turn-on state and theswitches between the output terminal of the extra gamma generator 209and the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth decoders 325, 326, 327, and328 may have a turn-off state, under control of the timing controller.

FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating an example of some components of adisplay panel and a display driver IC according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, some components of an electronic device 100according to an embodiment may include a first display area 161, asecond display area 162, a source driver 206, a gamma generator 208_1, afirst logic circuit 202 a, and a second logic circuit 202 b. In theabove-mentioned configuration, the first display area 161, the seconddisplay area 162, the source driver 206, the first logic circuit 202 a,and the second logic circuit 202 b may be substantially the samecomponents as respective components described with reference to FIG. 4.The source driver 206 may include a first source driver 206 a disposedbetween the first display area 161 and the first logic circuit 202 a anda second source driver 206 b disposed between the second display area162 and the first display area 161 and the second logic circuit 202 b.Meanwhile, the first source driver 206 a and the second source driver206 b may be divided for each area, which may be integrated andimplemented into one source driver.

A display panel 160 of the electronic device 100 may include, forexample, the first display area 161 having a first pixel arrangementdensity and the second display area 162 having a second pixelarrangement density. For example, source lines Sn, Sn+1, Sn+2, and Sn+3may be arranged in the first display area 161, and source lines Sm,Sm+1, Sm+2, and Sm+3 may be arranged in an area where the second displayarea 162 and the first display area 161 are arranged up and down (thefirst display area 161 may be disposed below the second display area 162with respect to a y-axis of the display panel 160, the second displayarea 162 may be disposed above the first display area 161, and the firstdisplay area 161 and the second display area 162 may be arranged on thesame plane).

The gamma generator 208_1 may include a first gamma generator 208 a, asecond gamma generator 208 c, and an extra gamma generator 208 e.

The first gamma generator 208 a and the second gamma generator 208 c mayrespectively supply an analog gamma voltage to source lines Sn, Sn+1,Sn+2, and Sn+3 arranged in the first display area 161 and source linesSm, Sm+1, Sm+2, and Sm+3 arranged in the second display area 162 and thefirst display area 161. For example, the first gamma generator 208 a maygenerate an analog gamma voltage to be supplied to a red subpixel and ablue subpixel arranged in the first display area 161 and may supply thegenerated analog gamma voltage to each of decoders (e.g., the firstdecoder 321 and the third decoder 323) connected with the red subpixeland the blue subpixel. The second gamma generator 208 c may generate ananalog gamma voltage to be supplied to a first green subpixel and asecond green subpixel arranged in the first display area 161 and maysupply the generated analog gamma voltage to each of decoders (e.g., thesecond decoder 322 and the fourth decoder 324) connected with the firstgreen subpixel and the second green subpixel. A switch may be includedin conjunction with supplying the analog gamma voltage of the firstgamma generator 208 a. For example, the switch may be disposed betweenthe output terminal of the first gamma generator 208 a and the thirddecoder 323.

The extra gamma generator 208 e may supply an analog gamma voltage toeach of the source lines Sm, Sm+1, Sm+2, and Sm+3 arranged in the seconddisplay area 162 and the first display area 161. For example, the extragamma generator 208 e may generate a common analog gamma voltage to besupplied to each of decoders (e.g., the fifth, sixth, seventh, andeighth decoders 325, 326, 327, and 328) connected with subpixelsarranged in the second display area 162 and may supply the generatedcommon analog gamma voltage to the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighthdecoders 325, 326, 327, and 328.

In conjunction with gamma voltage supply control of the gamma generator208_1, the source driver 206 may include a plurality of switches. Forexample, the source driver 206 may further include a switch disposedbetween the output terminal of the first gamma generator 208 a and thefifth decoder 325, a switch disposed between the output terminal of thefirst gamma generator 208 a and the seventh decoder 327, a switchdisposed between the output terminal of the second gamma generator 208 cand the sixth decoder 326, and a switch disposed between the outputterminal of the second gamma generator 208 c and the eighth decoder 328.Furthermore, the source driver 206 may further include a switch disposedat the output terminal of the extra gamma generator 208 e. The switchesmay be turned on or off under control of the timing controller. Forexample, the switches connected with the output terminal of the firstgamma generator 208 a and the output terminal of the second gammagenerator 208 c may have a turn-off state and the switch disposed at theoutput terminal of the extra gamma generator 208 e may have a turn-onstate, at a timing when an analog gamma voltage is supplied to thesecond display area 162. According to an embodiment, the switchesconnected with the output terminal of the first gamma generator 208 aand the output terminal of the second gamma generator 208 c may have aturn-on state and the switch disposed at the output terminal of theextra gamma generator 208 e may have a turn-off state, at a timing whenan analog gamma voltage is supplied to the first display area 161.

The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth decoders 325, 326, 327, and 328may receive an output of the logic circuit (e.g., the second logiccircuit 202 b) and an output of the gamma generator 208_1 as inputs andmay supply a signal to each of amplifiers. According to an embodiment,the fifth decoder 325 and the seventh decoder 327 may receive the analoggamma voltages of the first gamma generator 208 a and the extra gammagenerator 208 e, the display data supplied by the second logic circuit202 b, and the digital gamma value for driving the correspondingsubpixel. The sixth decoder 326 and the eighth decoder 328 may receivethe analog gamma voltages of the second gamma generator 208 c and theextra gamma generator 208 e, the display data supplied by the secondlogic circuit 202 b, and the digital gamma value for driving thecorresponding subpixel.

FIG. 7 is a drawing illustrating an example of some components of adisplay driver IC according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, some components of a display driver IC 200according to an embodiment may include a gamma generator 208, an extragamma generator 209, a decoder 320, a logic circuit 202, and anamplifier 310.

The amplifier 310 may include at least one amplifier disposed on asource driver. An output of the amplifier 310 may be supplied to adisplay panel 160 through a pad. The amplifier 310 may receive an outputof the decoder 320 and may amplify and supply the received output at aspecified rate to the display panel 160.

The logic circuit 202 may supply display data and a digital gamma valueto the decoder 320 and may supply a control signal for controlling theoutput of the decoder 320. According to an embodiment, the logic circuit202 may supply a control signal of 8 bits or more to the decoder 320.

The decoder 320 may receive an output of the logic circuit 202 and anoutput of the gamma generator 208 or an output of the extra gammagenerator 209 and may output a specified signal value to the amplifier310 based on the received output. According to an embodiment, thedecoder 320 may receive, for example, outputs (e.g., V0, V1, V2, . . . ,and V255) of the gamma generator 208 as inputs. Furthermore, the decoder320 may receive outputs (e.g., Vm, . . . , and Vm+1) of the extra gammagenerator 209 as inputs. The decoder 320 may be any one of decoderswhich are arranged on the source driver and are connected for eachsubpixel.

The gamma generator 208 may generate an analog gamma voltagecorresponding to a specified gray value and may supply the generatedanalog gamma voltage to the decoder 320. For example, when the displaypanel 160 is configured to apply 256 gray values, the gamma generator208 may include 256 signal lines to supply an analog gamma voltagecorresponding to the 256 gray values to the decoder 320.

The extra gamma generator 209 may generate an analog gamma voltage ofsubpixels arranged in the second display area 162 in the display panel160 and may supply the generated analog gamma voltage to the decoder320. The number of gray values of the analog gamma voltage generated bythe extra gamma generator 209 may vary depending on a setting. Forexample, the extra gamma generator 209 may generate any one of the 256analog gamma voltages to be the same as the gamma generator 208. Herein,the analog gamma value generated by the extra gamma generator 209 maydiffer in magnitude from the analog gamma value generated by the gammagenerator 208. For example, the analog gamma value generated by theextra gamma generator 209 may be greater in magnitude than (e.g., morethan twice) the analog gamma value generated by the gamma generator 208.According to various embodiments, the number of gray values generated bythe extra gamma generator 209 may be a number less than 256, forexample, 128. The 128 gray values may include, for example, gray valuesof a relatively high gray scale. Thus, when there is a need to representa gray value of a specific magnitude or more (e.g., an analog gammavoltage of gray level 128 or more) on the second display area 162 undercontrol of a processor 140, the extra gamma generator 209 may generateand supply an analog gamma voltage to the decoder 320. According to anembodiment, when there is a need to represent a gray value of less thanthe specified magnitude (e.g., an analog gamma voltage of gray level 127or less) on the second display area 162, the gamma generator 208 maygenerate and supply an analog gamma voltage to the decoder 320 undercontrol of the processor 140.

FIG. 8 is a drawing illustrating another example of some components of adisplay driver IC according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8, some components of a display driver IC 200according to an embodiment may include a gamma generator 208, an extragamma generator 209, a decoder 320, a logic circuit 202, and anamplifier 310.

The amplifier 310 may include at least one amplifier for each subpixeldisposed on a source driver. An output of the amplifier 310 may besupplied to a display panel 160 through a pad. The amplifier 310 mayreceive an output of the decoder 320 and may amplify and supply thereceived output at a specified rate to the display panel 160.

The logic circuit 202 may supply display data and a digital gamma valueto the decoder 320 and may supply a control signal for controlling theoutput of the decoder 320. According to an embodiment, the logic circuit202 may supply an 8-bit control signal to the decoder 320. The logiccircuit 202 may control the signal generated by the extra gammagenerator 209 to be supplied at a timing when the signal is supplied tothe second display area 162 and may control the signal generated by thegamma generator 208 to be supplied at a timing when the signal issupplied to the first display area 161.

The decoder 320 may receive an output of the logic circuit 202 and anoutput of the gamma generator 208 or an output of the extra gammagenerator 209 and may output a specified signal value to the amplifier310 based on the received output. According to an embodiment, thedecoder 320 may receive, for example, outputs (e.g., V0, V1, V2, . . . ,and V255) of the gamma generator 208 as inputs. Furthermore, the decoder320 may receive outputs (e.g., Vm, . . . , and Vm+1) of the extra gammagenerator 209 as inputs. The decoder 320 may be any one of decoderswhich are arranged on the source driver and are connected for eachsubpixel. Some of inputs from the gamma generator 208 of the decoder 320may overlap inputs from the extra gamma generator 209. A signal of anyone of the gamma generator 208 and the extra gamma generator 209 may besupplied as the input of the decoder 320. In this regard, some ofoutputs of the gamma generator 208 may be connected with the output ofthe extra gamma generator 209 and multiplexers (MUXs) (or switches). TheMUXs Mn, Mn+1, Mn+2, . . . , and M255 may have a number corresponding tothe number of outputs of the extra gamma generator 209.

The gamma generator 208 may generate an analog gamma voltagecorresponding to the specified gray value and may supply the generatedanalog gamma voltage to the decoder 320. For example, when the displaypanel 160 is configured to apply 256 gray values, the gamma generator208 may include 256 signal lines to supply an analog gamma voltagecorresponding to the 256 gray values to the decoder 320.

The extra gamma generator 209 may generate an analog gamma voltage ofsubpixels arranged in the second display area 162 in the display panel160 and may supply the generated analog gamma voltage to the decoder320. At this time, the output of the extra gamma generator 209 mayoverlap some outputs of the gamma generator 208, and any one output maybe supplied to the decoder 320 through the MUXs Mn, Mn+1, Mn+2, . . . ,and M255. The number of gray scales generated by the extra gammagenerator 209 may vary depending on a setting value. For example, theextra gamma generator 209 may generate and supply any one of analoggamma values (e.g., gray level 128 or more) corresponding to gray valuesof a relatively high gray scale to the decoder 320. Although displayedwith the same gray scale, the analog gamma value generated by the extragamma generator 209 may differ in magnitude from the analog gamma valuegenerated by the gamma generator 208.

FIG. 9 is a drawing illustrating an example of an output of a sourcedriver according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, a source driver 206 may supply a signal to adisplay panel 160 depending on a plurality of horizontal synchronizationsignals during one vertical synchronization signal. An R, G, and B gammaset of the source driver 206 may maintain a turn-on state during acertain number of horizontal synchronization signals. A source signalcorresponding to Rn Source Output, Gn Source Output, or Bn Source Outputmay be supplied to the first display area 161. The output amplitude ofthe source signal supplied to the first display area 161 may have, forexample, a first magnitude 901 A source signal corresponding to Rn′Source Output, Gn′ Source Output, or Bn′ Source Output may be suppliedto the second display area 162. The output amplitude of the sourcesignal supplied to the second display area 162 may have, for example, asecond magnitude 902 greater than the first magnitude 901. A differencebetween the first magnitude 901 and the second magnitude 902 may varydepending on an arrangement density of pixels arranged in the seconddisplay area 162. Alternatively, the difference between the firstmagnitude 901 and the second magnitude 902 may vary depending on abrightness of displayed content. Alternatively, the difference betweenthe first magnitude 901 and the second magnitude 902 may vary dependingon external illumination intensity. The difference between the firstmagnitude 901 and the second magnitude 902 may be larger when displayingrelatively bright content or high grayscale content than when displayingrelatively dark content or low grayscale content.

FIG. 10 is a drawing illustrating an example of a display panelincluding various shapes of second display areas according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 10, in 1001 state, a display panel 160 according to anembodiment may include a first display area 161 and a second displayarea 162_1 including a certain size in the center of the top. The seconddisplay area 162_1 may include, for example, a first width T1 in ahorizontal direction (e.g., an x-axis direction) with respect to theillustrated drawing and may have a certain length in a verticaldirection (e.g., a y-axis direction). At least a portion of the seconddisplay area 162_1 may include a portion of the upper edge of thedisplay panel 160. For example, at least one sensor (e.g., a camerasensor, a fingerprint sensor, a proximity sensor, or an iris sensor) ofan electronic device 100 may be disposed in a lower portion (e.g., az-axis direction) of the second display area 162_1. In the seconddisplay area 162_2, the other portion except for a portion 1006 adjacentto an edge portion of the display panel 160 may be rounded. The seconddisplay area 162_1 may be disposed such that the other area except forthe edge adjacent portion 1006 of the display panel 160 is surrounded bythe first display area 161.

In state 1002, the display panel 160 according to an embodiment mayinclude the first display area 161 and a second display area 162_2including a certain size in the center of the top. A portion of theupper end of the second display area 162_2 may include a portion of theupper edge of the display panel 160. A portion of the upper edge of thesecond display area 162_2 may be included, and it may be formed in theshape of a rectangle as a whole.

In state 1003, the display panel 160 according to an embodiment mayinclude the first display area 161 and a second display area 162_3including a certain size in the center of the top. A portion of theupper end of the second display area 162_3 may include a portion of theupper edge of the display panel 160. A portion of the upper edge of thesecond display area 162_3 may be formed with a second width T2. Thesecond display area 162_3 may be formed in the shape of a rectangle as awhole and may be rounded.

In state 1004, the display panel 160 according to an embodiment mayinclude the first display area 161 and a 21st display area 162_4 a and a22nd display area 162_4 b including a certain size in the center of thetop. Each of the 21st display area 162_4 a and the 22nd display area162_4 b may have a circular shape of a certain size. The 21st displayarea 162 4 a and the 22nd display area 162_4 b may be arranged to besurrounded by the first display area 161. The 21st display area 162_4 aand the 22nd display area 162_4 b may be arranged at a certain interval.Sensors may be arranged on a lower portion (a z-axis direction) of eachof the 21st display area 162 4 a and the 22th display area 162_4 b.

In state 1005, the display panel 160 according to an embodiment mayinclude the first display area 161 and a second display area 162_5including a certain size at a right side of the top. The second displayarea 162_5 may be provided in the shape of an oval of a certain sizewhere an x-axis is longer than a y-axis or in the form of a rectangle,edges of which are rounded. A plurality of sensors may be arranged in alower portion (a z-axis direction) of the second display area 162_5. Forexample, a fingerprint sensor and a camera may be arranged in a lowerportion of the second display area 162_5. Alternatively, an iris sensorand an RGB camera may be arranged in a lower portion of the seconddisplay area 162_5.

FIG. 11 is a drawing illustrating an example where an extra gammadriving unit is disposed at a left side in a display driver IC accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 11, as described above, a display driver IC 200 mayinclude a logic circuit 220, a source driver 206, a gate driver 207, anda graphic memory 203. In the illustrated drawing, for convenience ofdescription, only some components including a gamma generator 208 and anextra gamma generator 209 are illustrated. A display panel 160 mayinclude, for example, an area where a second display area 162 having arelatively lower pixel arrangement density and a first display area 161having a relatively higher pixel arrangement density share the samesource line and an area including only the first display area 161. Inthe illustrated drawing, the shape where the second display area 162 andthe first display area 161 are arranged in a left area of the displaypanel 160 is illustrated.

In the display driver IC 200, the extra gamma generator 209 may bedisposed to be biased to the left to optimize a supply route of ananalog gamma voltage. An analog gamma voltage generated by the extragamma generator 209 may be supplied to decoders of a source driverassociated with the second display area 162 at a timing when a signal issupplied to the second display area 162. The gamma generator 208 may bedisposed in, for example, a central portion of the display driver IC 200to generate and supply an analog gamma voltage to decoders associatedwith the first display area 161 which is evenly disposed from left andright. At least one sensor may be disposed in a lower portion of thesecond display area 162 (e.g., a direction opposite to a direction wherelight is radiated from the display panel 160). The first display area161 of the display panel 160 may be evenly disposed in the entiredisplay panel 160, and at least a portion of the second display area 162may be disposed in the first display area 161. Thus, the at least aportion of the second display area 162 may be disposed to be surroundedby the first display area 161.

FIG. 12 is a drawing illustrating an example where an extra gammadriving unit is disposed in the center in a display driver IC accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 12, as described above, a display driver IC 200 mayinclude a logic circuit 220, a source driver 206, a gate driver 207, anda graphic memory 203. In the illustrated drawing, for convenience ofdescription, only some components including a gamma generator 208 and anextra gamma generator 209 are illustrated. A display panel 160 mayinclude, for example, an area where a second display area 162 having arelatively lower pixel arrangement density and a first display area 161having a relatively higher pixel arrangement density share the samesource line and an area including only the first display area 161. Inthe illustrated drawing, the shape where the second display area 162 andthe first display area 161 are arranged in a central area of the displaypanel 160 is illustrated.

To optimize a supply route of an analog gamma voltage, an extra gammagenerator 209 may be disposed in the center of the display driver IC 200to supply an analog gamma voltage to the second display area 162disposed in the center of the display panel 160. An analog gamma voltagegenerated by the extra gamma generator 209 may be supplied to decodersof a source driver associated with the second display area 162 at atiming when a signal is supplied to the second display area 162. Thegamma generator 208 may be disposed in, for example, the center of thedisplay driver IC 200 to generate and supply an analog gamma voltage todecoders associated with the first display area 161 which is evenlydisposed from left and right. Thus, the gamma generator 208 and theextra gamma generator 209 may be arranged in parallel in the center. Forexample, a camera may be disposed in a lower portion of the seconddisplay area 162 (e.g., a direction opposite to a direction where lightis radiated from the display panel 160), and the second display area 162may be disposed to be biased to an upper end of the display panel 160.

FIG. 13 is a drawing illustrating an example where an extra gammadriving unit is disposed at a right side in a display driver ICaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 13, as described above, a display driver IC 200 mayinclude a logic circuit 220, a source driver 206, a gate driver 207, anda graphic memory 203. In the illustrated drawing, for convenience ofdescription, only some components including a gamma generator 208 and anextra gamma generator 209 are illustrated. A display panel 160 mayinclude a first display area 161 having a first pixel arrangementdensity and a second display area 162 having a second pixel arrangementdensity lower than the first pixel arrangement density. Some of sourcelines which supply a source signal may be arranged in only the firstdisplay area 161, and the others may be arranged in the first displayarea 161 and the second display area 162. In the illustrated drawing,the shape where the second display area 162 and the first display area161 are arranged in a right area of the display panel 160 isillustrated.

To optimize a supply route of an analog gamma voltage, an extra gammagenerator 209 may be disposed at a right side of the display panel 160to supply the analog gamma voltage to the second display area 162disposed at the right side of the display panel 160. An analog gammavoltage generated by the extra gamma generator 209 may be supplied todecoders of a source driver associated with the second display area 162at a timing when a signal is supplied to the second display area 162.The gamma generator 208 may be disposed in, for example, the center ofthe display driver IC 200 to generate and supply an analog gamma voltageto decoders associated with the first display area 161 which is evenlydisposed from left and right. For example, an iris sensor or an RGBcamera may be arranged in a lower portion of the second display area 162(e.g., a direction opposite to a direction where light is radiated fromthe display panel 160), and the second display area 162 may be disposedto be biased to a right upper end of the display panel 160.

FIG. 14 is a drawing illustrating an example where an extra gammadriving unit is disposed at various locations in a display driver ICaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 14, as described above, a display driver IC 200 mayinclude a logic circuit 220, a source driver 206, a gate driver 207, anda graphic memory 203. In the illustrated drawing, for convenience ofdescription, only some components including a gamma generator 208 and anextra gamma generator 209 are illustrated. A display panel 160 mayinclude a first display area 161 having a first pixel arrangementdensity and 21st, 22nd, and 23rd display areas 162 a, 162 b, and 162 chaving a second pixel arrangement density lower than the first pixelarrangement density. Pixel arrangement densities of the 21st, 22nd, and23rd display areas 162 a, 162 b, and 162 c may be formed differentlyfrom each other. For example, it may be formed such that a pixelarrangement density of a display area in which an RGB camera is disposedin a lower portion is relatively lowest and such that a pixelarrangement density of a display area in which an illumination sensor ora proximity sensor is disposed in a lower portion is relatively highest.In the illustrated drawing, the shape where the 21st display area 162 ais disposed in a left area of the display panel 160, where the 22nddisplay area 162 b is disposed in a central area, and where the 23rddisplay area 162 c is disposed in a right area is illustrated. As thefirst display area 161 is disposed in an area adjacent to each of the21st, 22nd, and 23rd display areas 162 a, 162 b, and 162 c, source lineswhich supply a source signal to the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd display areas162 a, 162 b, and 162 c may be arranged to supply the source signal tothe 21st, 22nd, and 23rd display areas 162 a, 162 b, and 162 c throughthe first display area 161. According to various embodiments, the 22nddisplay area 162 b may be disposed to be biased to a lower portion ofthe display panel 160.

To optimize a supply route of an analog gamma voltage, extra gammagenerators 209_1, 209_2, and 209_3 in the display driver IC 200 may bearranged on the display driver IC 200 of locations corresponding to thecorresponding 21st, 22nd, and 23rd display areas 162 a, 162 b, and 162c. For example, the first extra gamma generator 209_1 corresponding tothe 21st display area 162 a may be disposed to be biased to the left onthe display driver IC 200, the second extra gamma generator 209_2corresponding to the 22nd display area 162 b may be disposed in thecenter on the display driver IC 200, and the third extra gamma generator209_3 corresponding to the 23rd display area 162 c may be disposed to bebiased to the right on the display driver IC 200. Analog gamma voltagesgenerated by the first, second, and third extra gamma generators 209_1,209_2, and 209_3 may be set to different values according to a type orcharacteristic of an operated sensor. For example, in the 22nd displayarea 162 b where the fingerprint sensor is disposed in the lowerportion, when a fingerprint is sensed, it may be configured such that arelatively high analog gamma voltage is supplied to display content of arelatively higher luminance than a luminance of content displayed on thefirst display area 161. According to various embodiments, when the 21stdisplay area 162 a and the 23rd display area 162 c are configured tohave different pixel arrangement densities, an analog gamma voltage maybe differently supplied in response to it (e.g., a voltage of adifferent magnitude is supplied although there is the same gray value).For example, as the density of the display area is relatively lower, ananalog gamma voltage of a higher magnitude may be supplied. According tovarious embodiments, the electronic device may include gamma correctiontables for respectively driving the first display area 161 and the 21stto 23rd display areas 162 a to 162 c (e.g., a first gamma correctiontable for driving the 21st display area 162 a, a second gamma correctiontable for driving the 22nd display area 162 b, a third gamma correctiontable for driving the 23rd display area 162 c, and a gamma correctiontable for driving the first display area 161). According to variousembodiments, a pixel arrangement density between the first display area161 and the 21st display area 162 a, between the first display area 161and the 22nd display area 162 b, or between the first display area 161and the 23rd display area 162 c may be different from a surroundingpixel arrangement density. For example, as the pixel density goes fromthe first display area 161 to the 21st display area 162 a, the 22nddisplay area 162 b, or the 23rd display area 162 c, it may be graduallyreduced. Alternatively, as the pixel density goes from the 21st displayarea 162 a, the 22nd display area 162 b, or the 23rd display area 162 cto the first display area 161, it may be gradually reduced. Thus, theelectronic device may provide a gradation effect in which a gray valueis gradually changed in a boundary of at least one of the 21st displayarea 162 a, the 22nd display area 162 b, and the 23rd display area 162c. In this regard, the display driver IC 200 may generate and operate atleast one gamma correction table corresponding to a pixel arrangementdensity in at least one of boundary areas between the first display area161 and the 21st display area 162 a, between the first display area 161and the 22nd display area 162 b, or between the first display area 161and the 23rd display area 162 c in response to the corresponding pixelarrangement density. Alternatively, the electronic device may previouslygenerate or store at least one gamma correction table for a gradualscreen change in the boundary areas (e.g., between the first displayarea 161 and the 21st display area 162 a, between the first display area161 and the 22nd display area 162 b, or between the first display area161 and the 23rd display area 162 c) and may process pixel driving inthe corresponding boundary area based on it. The at least one gammacorrection table may be stored in, for example, a memory disposed in thedisplay driver IC 200 or may be disposed in a memory accessible by anapplication processor. According to various embodiments, the electronicdevice may calculate an intermediate gamma value between a first gammavalue for driving the first display area 161 and a second gamma valuefor driving the 21st display area 162 a (or a second gamma value fordriving the 22nd display area 162 b or a second gamma value for drivingthe 23rd display area 162 c) and may perform pixel driving in theboundary area based on it. According to various embodiments, theelectronic device may generate a gradation mask in which a color isgradually changed in the boundary area in software and may apply it tothe corresponding boundary area, thus providing the gradation effect.

FIG. 15 is a drawing illustrating an example of driving of a displaypanel according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 15, as described above, a second display area 162 of adisplay panel 160 may have subpixel arrangement of a Pentile type.According to various embodiments, the second display area 162 of thedisplay panel 160 may have subpixel arrangement of a stripe type asshown. In the second display area 162, pixels may be arranged in some ofpixel deployable areas divided in the form of a matrix, and pixels maynot be arranged in the other pixel deployable areas. For example, thesecond display area 162 may have a relatively lower pixel arrangementdensity than the first display area 161 in which pixels (or subpixels)are arranged in the form of a matrix without an empty area. Thus, forexample, although a sensor is disposed in a lower portion of the seconddisplay area 162 (e.g., below a direction opposite to a direction wherelight is radiated from the display panel 160), it is possible to obtainan image of a resolution of a specified level or more. The pixels may bearranged like, for example, ¼, ⅜, or ½, in this case, the display panel160 may drive the source once every two horizontal synchronizationintervals (every horizontal time) and may ensure the maintenance of ascan on time of the OLED, thus implementing full content display bymeans of time division driving. In conjunction with driving the seconddisplay area 162 (or an area where a camera or the like is disposed in alower portion of the display), the physical number of extra gammagenerators 209 of a source driver 206 may be reduced to a half bydriving (or generating and supplying) the time-divided source signal andthe time-divided gamma voltage. For example, as shown, in the firstdisplay area 161, RGBG subpixels in which odd-numbered gate lines andeven-numbered gate lines are alternately driven may be driven for eachline. In the second display area 162, red and blue subpixels may bedriven while an even-numbered gate line and an odd-numbered source lineare driven, and two green subpixels may be driven while an odd-numberedgate line and an odd-numbered source line are driven. Thus, as the extragamma generator 209 supplies an analog gamma voltage for controllingdriving of some subpixels while a source line and a gate line arecontrolled to be alternately driven, it may perform driving using halfthe number of extra gamma driving units as compared with sequentialdriving.

According to the above-mentioned various embodiments, an electronicdevice according to an embodiment may include a display panel includinga first display area and a second display area, the first display areaincluding subpixels distributed at a first density and the seconddisplay area including subpixels distributed at a second density lowerthan the first density, and a display driver IC associated with drivingthe display panel. The display driver IC may include a gamma generatorfor supplying a gamma signal to source lines arranged in the firstdisplay area and an extra gamma generator for supplying a gamma signalto source lines arranged in common in the second display area and thefirst display area. The extra gamma generator may be configured tosupply a gamma signal set to have a relatively higher luminance valuethan a gamma signal supplied to the first display area to the seconddisplay area.

According to various embodiments, at least some of at least one sensormay be arranged below the second display area, in the direction oflooking down at the display panel, when looking down at the displaypanel (or when looking down at an upper surface of the display panel).

According to various embodiments, the at least one sensor may include anRGB camera.

According to various embodiments, the at least one sensor may include afingerprint sensor.

According to various embodiments, the first display area may be disposedto surround at least one surface of the second display area (or at leasta portion of the periphery of the second display area).

According to various embodiments, the extra gamma generator may beconfigured to supply a common gamma voltage signal of the same magnitudeto the respective subpixels arranged in the second display area.

According to various embodiments, the extra gamma generator may includea first extra gamma generator for generating a red gamma signal set todisplay a relatively higher luminance than a red subpixel disposed inthe first display area, a second extra gamma generator for generating agreen gamma signal set to display a relatively higher luminance than agreen subpixel disposed in the first display area, and a third extragamma generator for generating a blue gamma signal set to display arelatively higher luminance than a blue subpixel disposed in the firstdisplay area.

According to various embodiments, the gamma generator may include afirst gamma generator for supplying a gamma signal to a red subpixel anda blue subpixel arranged in the first display area and a second gammagenerator for supplying a gamma signal to green subpixels arranged inthe first display area. The extra gamma generator may be disposedadjacent to the gamma generator and may be configured to supply a gammasignal in common to a red subpixel, a green subpixel, and a bluesubpixel arranged in the second display area.

According to various embodiments, the gamma generator may be disposed inthe center of the display driver IC, and the extra gamma generator maybe disposed in a location in the display driver IC, which corresponds toa location of a signal line for supplying a signal to the second displayarea. Alternatively, the location of the extra gamma generator in thedisplay driver IC may correspond to the location of the signal line forsupplying the signal to the second display area.

According to various embodiments, the second display area may bedisposed in at least one of a left edge, a center, and a right edge ofthe display panel, and the extra gamma generator may be disposed in atleast one of a left edge, a center, and a right edge of the displaydriver IC. According to various embodiments, the second display area maybe disposed in at least one of a left edge, a center, and a right edgearound the center of the display panel, when the display panel is apolygon (e.g., a rectangle) or a circle. The extra gamma generator maybe adjacent to the second display area and may be disposed in at leastone of the left edge, the center, and the right edge.

According to various embodiments, the display driver IC may alternatelyoperate an odd-numbered gate line and an odd-numbered source line of thesecond display area and an even-numbered gate line and an even-numberedsource line of the second display area.

According to various embodiments, the display driver IC may includesource lines for supplying a signal to the first display area and thesecond display area, amplifiers connected with the source lines, anddecoders connected with the amplifiers. The decoders may receive grayvalues of the gamma generator and the extra gamma generator as inputsand may output any one of the received gray values to the amplifier.

According to various embodiments, the display driver IC may furtherinclude source lines for supplying a signal to the first display areaand the second display area, amplifiers connected with the source lines,decoders connected with the amplifiers, and a plurality of multiplexersfor multiplexing some outputs of the gamma generator and an output ofthe extra gamma generator and supplying a gamma signal of the gammagenerator or a gamma signal of the extra gamma generator to the decodersunder control.

According to various embodiments, a first magnitude of a source signaloutput of the first display area and a second magnitude of a sourcesignal output of the second display area may be different from eachother.

According to various embodiments, a difference between the firstmagnitude and the second magnitude may correspond to a differencebetween a density of subpixels of the first display area and a densityof subpixels of the second display area. According to variousembodiments, the difference between the density of the subpixels of thefirst display area and the density of subpixels of the second displayarea may be large when the difference between the first magnitude andthe second magnitude is large, and the difference between the density ofthe subpixels of the first display area and the density of the subpixelsof the second display area may be small when the difference between thefirst magnitude and the second magnitude is small. As an example of sucha configuration, it may be set to an opposite case (e.g., the differencebetween the magnitudes may be small when the difference between thedensities is large, and the difference between the magnitudes may belarge when the difference between the densities is small).

According to various embodiments, the display driver IC may control amagnitude of a source signal output of the second display area such thatcolors and luminances of the same content output to the first displayarea and the second display area are shown to be the same as or similarto each other.

According to the above-mentioned various embodiments, an operationmethod for a gamma voltage according to a display area according to anembodiment may include receiving, by a display driver IC, display datafrom a processor and supplying, by the display driver IC, a second gammasignal set to display a luminance of a second magnitude greater than afirst magnitude to a second display area having a second pixelarrangement density lower than a first pixel arrangement density, whilesupplying a first gamma signal set to display a luminance of the firstmagnitude to a first display area disposed at the first pixelarrangement density in a display panel.

According to various embodiments, the supplying of the second gammasignal may include supplying the second gamma signal having a voltage ofthe same magnitude in common to a red subpixel, a green subpixel, and ablue subpixel arranged in the second display area.

According to various embodiments, the supplying of the second gammasignal may include generating the second gamma signal for each subpixeldisposed in the second display area and supplying the generated secondgamma signal for each subpixel to source lines connected with thecorresponding subpixel.

According to various embodiments, the supplying of the second gammasignal may include alternately supplying the second gamma signal toodd-numbered gate lines and odd-numbered source lines and even-numberedgate lines and even-numbered source lines arranged in the second displayarea.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device in anetwork environment according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 16, an electronic device 1601 in a network environment1600 may communicate with an electronic device 1602 via a first network1698 (e.g., a short-range wireless communication network), or anelectronic device 1604 or a server 1608 via a second network 1699 (e.g.,a long-range wireless communication network). According to anembodiment, the electronic device 1601 may communicate with theelectronic device 1604 via the server 1608. According to an embodiment,the electronic device 1601 may include a processor 1620, memory 1630, aninput device 1650, a sound output device 1655, a display device 1660, anaudio module 1670, a sensor module 1676, an interface 1677, a hapticmodule 1679, a camera module 1680, a power management module 1688, abattery 1689, a communication module 1690, a subscriber identificationmodule (SIM) 1696, or an antenna module 1697. In some embodiments, atleast one (e.g., the display device 1660 or the camera module 1680) ofthe components may be omitted from the electronic device 1601, or one ormore other components may be added in the electronic device 1601. Insome embodiments, some of the components may be implemented as singleintegrated circuitry. For example, the sensor module 1676 (e.g., afingerprint sensor, an iris sensor, or an illuminance sensor) may beimplemented as embedded in the display device 1660 (e.g., a display).

The processor 1620 may execute, for example, software (e.g., a program1640) to control at least one other component (e.g., a hardware orsoftware component) of the electronic device 1601 coupled with theprocessor 1620, and may perform various data processing or computation.According to one embodiment, as at least part of the data processing orcomputation, the processor 1620 may load a command or data received fromanother component (e.g., the sensor module 1676 or the communicationmodule 1690) in volatile memory 1632, process the command or the datastored in the volatile memory 1632, and store resulting data innon-volatile memory 1634. According to an embodiment, the processor 1620may include a main processor 1621 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)or an application processor (AP)), and an auxiliary processor 1623(e.g., a graphics processing unit (GPU), an image signal processor(ISP), a sensor hub processor, or a communication processor (CP)) thatis operable independently from, or in conjunction with, the mainprocessor 1621. Additionally or alternatively, the auxiliary processor1623 may be adapted to consume less power than the main processor 1621,or to be specific to a specified function. The auxiliary processor 1623may be implemented as separate from, or as part of the main processor1621.

The auxiliary processor 1623 may control at least some of functions orstates related to at least one component (e.g., the display device 1660,the sensor module 1676, or the communication module 1690) among thecomponents of the electronic device 1601, instead of the main processor1621 while the main processor 1621 is in an inactive (e.g., sleep)state, or together with the main processor 1621 while the main processor1621 is in an active state (e.g., executing an application). Accordingto an embodiment, the auxiliary processor 1623 (e.g., an image signalprocessor or a communication processor) may be implemented as part ofanother component (e.g., the camera module 1680 or the communicationmodule 1690) functionally related to the auxiliary processor 1623.

The memory 1630 may store various data used by at least one component(e.g., the processor 1620 or the sensor module 1676) of the electronicdevice 1601. The various data may include, for example, software (e.g.,the program 1640) and input data or output data for a command relatedthereto. The memory 1630 may include the volatile memory 1632 or thenon-volatile memory 1634.

The program 1640 may be stored in the memory 1630 as software, and mayinclude, for example, an operating system (OS) 1642, middleware 1644, oran application 1646.

The input device 1650 may receive a command or data to be used by othercomponent (e.g., the processor 1620) of the electronic device 1601, fromthe outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic device 1601. The inputdevice 1650 may include, for example, a microphone, a mouse, a keyboard,or a digital pen (e.g., a stylus pen).

The sound output device 1655 may output sound signals to the outside ofthe electronic device 1601. The sound output device 1655 may include,for example, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker may be used forgeneral purposes, such as playing multimedia or playing record, and thereceiver may be used for an incoming calls. According to an embodiment,the receiver may be implemented as separate from, or as part of thespeaker.

The display device 1660 may visually provide information to the outside(e.g., a user) of the electronic device 1601. The display device 1660may include, for example, a display, a hologram device, or a projectorand control circuitry to control a corresponding one of the display,hologram device, and projector. According to an embodiment, the displaydevice 1660 may include touch circuitry adapted to detect a touch, orsensor circuitry (e.g., a pressure sensor) adapted to measure theintensity of force incurred by the touch.

The audio module 1670 may convert a sound into an electrical signal andvice versa. According to an embodiment, the audio module 1670 may obtainthe sound via the input device 1650, or output the sound via the soundoutput device 1655 or a headphone of an external electronic device(e.g., an electronic device 1602) directly (e.g., wiredly) or wirelesslycoupled with the electronic device 1601.

The sensor module 1676 may detect an operational state (e.g., power ortemperature) of the electronic device 1601 or an environmental state(e.g., a state of a user) external to the electronic device 1601, andthen generate an electrical signal or data value corresponding to thedetected state. According to an embodiment, the sensor module 1676 mayinclude, for example, a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, an atmosphericpressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gripsensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, abiometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or anilluminance sensor.

The interface 1677 may support one or more specified protocols to beused for the electronic device 1601 to be coupled with the externalelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 1602) directly (e.g.,wiredly) or wirelessly. According to an embodiment, the interface 1677may include, for example, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI),a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a secure digital (SD) cardinterface, or an audio interface.

A connecting terminal 1678 may include a connector via which theelectronic device 1601 may be physically connected with the externalelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 1602). According to anembodiment, the connecting terminal 1678 may include, for example, anHDMI connector, a USB connector, an SD card connector, or an audioconnector (e.g., a headphone connector).

The haptic module 1679 may convert an electrical signal into amechanical stimulus (e.g., a vibration or a movement) or electricalstimulus which may be recognized by a user via his tactile sensation orkinesthetic sensation. According to an embodiment, the haptic module1679 may include, for example, a motor, a piezoelectric element, or anelectric stimulator.

The camera module 1680 may capture a still image or moving images.According to an embodiment, the camera module 1680 may include one ormore lenses, image sensors, image signal processors, or flashes.

The power management module 1688 may manage power supplied to theelectronic device 1601. According to one embodiment, the powermanagement module 1688 may be implemented as at least part of, forexample, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC).

The battery 1689 may supply power to at least one component of theelectronic device 1601. According to an embodiment, the battery 1689 mayinclude, for example, a primary cell which is not rechargeable, asecondary cell which is rechargeable, or a fuel cell.

The communication module 1690 may support establishing a direct (e.g.,wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel betweenthe electronic device 1601 and the external electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 1602, the electronic device 1604, or the server 1608)and performing communication via the established communication channelThe communication module 1690 may include one or more communicationprocessors that are operable independently from the processor 1620(e.g., the application processor (AP)) and supports a direct (e.g.,wired) communication or a wireless communication. According to anembodiment, the communication module 1690 may include a wirelesscommunication module 1692 (e.g., a cellular communication module, ashort-range wireless communication module, or a global navigationsatellite system (GNSS) communication module) or a wired communicationmodule 1694 (e.g., a local area network (LAN) communication module or apower line communication (PLC) module). A corresponding one of thesecommunication modules may communicate with the external electronicdevice via the first network 1698 (e.g., a short-range communicationnetwork, such as Bluetooth™, Wi-Fi direct, or infrared data association(IrDA)) or the second network 1699 (e.g., a long-range communicationnetwork, such as a cellular network, the Internet, or a computer network(e.g., LAN or wide area network (WAN))). These various types ofcommunication modules may be implemented as a single component (e.g., asingle chip), or may be implemented as multi components (e.g., multichips) separate from each other. The wireless communication module 1692may identify and authenticate the electronic device 1601 in acommunication network, such as the first network 1698 or the secondnetwork 1699, using subscriber information (e.g., international mobilesubscriber identity (IMSI)) stored in the subscriber identificationmodule 1696.

The antenna module 1697 may transmit or receive a signal or power to orfrom the outside (e.g., the external electronic device) of theelectronic device 1601. According to an embodiment, the antenna module1697 may include an antenna including a radiating element composed of aconductive material or a conductive pattern formed in or on a substrate(e.g., printed circuit board (PCB)). According to an embodiment, theantenna module 1697 may include a plurality of antennas. In such a case,at least one antenna appropriate for a communication scheme used in thecommunication network, such as the first network 1698 or the secondnetwork 1699, may be selected, for example, by the communication module1690 (e.g., the wireless communication module 1692) from the pluralityof antennas. The signal or the power may then be transmitted or receivedbetween the communication module 1690 and the external electronic devicevia the selected at least one antenna. According to an embodiment,another component (e.g., a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC))other than the radiating element may be additionally formed as part ofthe antenna module 1697.

At least some of the above-described components may be coupled mutuallyand communicate signals (e.g., commands or data) therebetween via aninter-peripheral communication scheme (e.g., a bus, general purposeinput and output (GPIO), serial peripheral interface (SPI), or mobileindustry processor interface (MIPI)).

According to an embodiment, commands or data may be transmitted orreceived between the electronic device 1601 and the external electronicdevice 1604 via the server 1608 coupled with the second network 1699.Each of the electronic devices 1602 and 1604 may be a device of a sametype as, or a different type, from the electronic device 1601. Accordingto an embodiment, all or some of operations to be executed at theelectronic device 1601 may be executed at one or more of the externalelectronic devices 1602, 1604, or 1608. For example, if the electronicdevice 1601 should perform a function or a service automatically, or inresponse to a request from a user or another device, the electronicdevice 1601, instead of, or in addition to, executing the function orthe service, may request the one or more external electronic devices toperform at least part of the function or the service. The one or moreexternal electronic devices receiving the request may perform the atleast part of the function or the service requested, or an additionalfunction or an additional service related to the request, and transferan outcome of the performing to the electronic device 1601. Theelectronic device 1601 may provide the outcome, with or without furtherprocessing of the outcome, as at least part of a reply to the request.To that end, a cloud computing, distributed computing, or client-servercomputing technology may be used, for example.

The electronic device according to various embodiments may be one ofvarious types of electronic devices. The electronic devices may include,for example, a portable communication device (e.g., a smartphone), acomputer device, a portable multimedia device, a portable medicaldevice, a camera, a wearable device, or a home appliance. According toan embodiment of the disclosure, the electronic devices are not limitedto those described above.

It should be appreciated that various embodiments of the disclosure andthe terms used therein are not intended to limit the technologicalfeatures set forth herein to particular embodiments and include variouschanges, equivalents, or replacements for a corresponding embodiment.With regard to the description of the drawings, similar referencenumerals may be used to refer to similar or related elements. It is tobe understood that a singular form of a noun corresponding to an itemmay include one or more of the things, unless the relevant contextclearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, each of such phrases as “Aor B,” “at least one of A and B,” “at least one of A or B,” “A, B, orC,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” and “at least one of A, B, or C” mayinclude any one of, or all possible combinations of the items enumeratedtogether in a corresponding one of the phrases. As used herein, suchterms as “1st” and “2nd,” or “first” and “second” may be used to simplydistinguish a corresponding component from another, and does not limitthe components in other aspect (e.g., importance or order). It is to beunderstood that if an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to,with or without the term “operatively” or “communicatively,” as “coupledwith,” “coupled to,” “connected with,” or “connected to” another element(e.g., a second element), it means that the element may be coupled withthe other element directly (e.g., wiredly), wirelessly, or via a thirdelement.

As used herein, the term “module” may include a unit implemented inhardware, software, or firmware, and may interchangeably be used withother terms, for example, “logic,” “logic block,” “part,” or“circuitry.” A module may be a single integral component, or a minimumunit or part thereof, adapted to perform one or more functions. Forexample, according to an embodiment, the module may be implemented in aform of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

Various embodiments as set forth herein may be implemented as software(e.g., the program 1640) including one or more instructions that arestored in a storage medium (e.g., internal memory 1636 or externalmemory 1638) that is readable by a machine (e.g., the electronic device1601). For example, a processor (e.g., the processor 1620) of themachine (e.g., the electronic device 1601) may invoke at least one ofthe one or more instructions stored in the storage medium, and executeit, with or without using one or more other components under the controlof the processor. This allows the machine to be operated to perform atleast one function according to the at least one instruction invoked.The one or more instructions may include a code generated by a compileror a code executable by an interpreter. The machine-readable storagemedium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium.Wherein, the term “non-transitory” simply means that the storage mediumis a tangible device, and does not include a signal (e.g., anelectromagnetic wave), but this term does not differentiate betweenwhere data is semi-permanently stored in the storage medium and wherethe data is temporarily stored in the storage medium.

According to an embodiment, a method according to various embodiments ofthe disclosure may be included and provided in a computer programproduct. The computer program product may be traded as a product betweena seller and a buyer. The computer program product may be distributed inthe form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc readonly memory (CD-ROM)), or be distributed (e.g., downloaded or uploaded)online via an application store (e.g., PlayStore™), or between two userdevices (e.g., smart phones) directly. If distributed online, at leastpart of the computer program product may be temporarily generated or atleast temporarily stored in the machine-readable storage medium, such asmemory of the manufacturer's server, a server of the application store,or a relay server.

According to various embodiments, each component (e.g., a module or aprogram) of the above-described components may include a single entityor multiple entities. According to various embodiments, one or more ofthe above-described components may be omitted, or one or more othercomponents may be added. Alternatively or additionally, a plurality ofcomponents (e.g., modules or programs) may be integrated into a singlecomponent. In such a case, according to various embodiments, theintegrated component may still perform one or more functions of each ofthe plurality of components in the same or similar manner as they areperformed by a corresponding one of the plurality of components beforethe integration. According to various embodiments, operations performedby the module, the program, or another component may be carried outsequentially, in parallel, repeatedly, or heuristically, or one or moreof the operations may be executed in a different order or omitted, orone or more other operations may be added.

While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference tovarious embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as definedby the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device, comprising: a display panelincluding a first display area and a second display area, —the firstdisplay area including subpixels distributed at a first density and thesecond display area including subpixels distributed at a second densitylower than the first density; and a display driver integrated circuit(IC) associated with driving the display panel, wherein the displaydriver IC includes: a gamma generator configured to supply a gammasignal to source lines arranged in conjunction with driving the firstdisplay area, and an extra gamma generator configured to supply a gammasignal to source lines arranged in conjunction with driving the seconddisplay area, and wherein the extra gamma generator is configured tosupply, to the second display area, a gamma signal set to have arelatively higher luminance value than a gamma signal supplied to thefirst display area.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein atleast one sensor is arranged below the second display area, in adirection of looking down at the display panel, when looking down at anupper surface of the display panel.
 3. The electronic device of claim 2,wherein the at least one sensor includes a red, green, blue (RGB)camera.
 4. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the at least onesensor includes a fingerprint sensor.
 5. The electronic device of claim2, wherein the first display area is disposed to surround at least onesurface of the second display area or at least a portion of a peripheryof the second display area.
 6. The electronic device of claim 1, whereinthe extra gamma generator is configured to supply a common gamma voltagesignal of a same magnitude to respective subpixels arranged in thesecond display area.
 7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein theextra gamma generator includes: a first extra gamma generator configuredto generate a red gamma signal set to display a relatively higherluminance than a red subpixel disposed in the first display area; asecond extra gamma generator configured to generate a green gamma signalset to display a relatively higher luminance than a green subpixeldisposed in the first display area; and a third extra gamma generatorconfigured to generate a blue gamma signal set to display a relativelyhigher luminance than a blue subpixel disposed in the first displayarea.
 8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the gamma generatorincludes: a first gamma generator configured to supply a gamma signal toa red subpixel and a blue subpixel arranged in the first display area,and a second gamma generator configured to supply a gamma signal togreen subpixels arranged in the first display area, and wherein theextra gamma generator is disposed adjacent to the gamma generator and isconfigured to supply a gamma signal in common to a red subpixel, a greensubpixel, and a blue subpixel arranged in the second display area. 9.The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the gamma generator isdisposed in a center of the display driver IC, and wherein the extragamma generator is disposed in a location in the display driver IC, thelocation corresponding to a location of a signal line for supplying asignal to the second display area.
 10. The electronic device of claim 1,wherein the display driver IC alternately operates an odd-numbered gateline and an odd-numbered source line of the second display area and aneven-numbered gate line and an even-numbered source line of the seconddisplay area.
 11. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the displaydriver IC includes: source lines for supplying a signal to the firstdisplay area and the second display area, amplifiers connected with thesource lines, and decoders connected with the amplifiers, and whereinthe decoders receive gray values of the gamma generator and the extragamma generator as inputs and output any one of the received gray valuesto the amplifier.
 12. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein thedisplay driver IC includes: source lines for supplying a signal to thefirst display area and the second display area; amplifiers connectedwith the source lines; decoders connected with the amplifiers; and aplurality of multiplexers configured to: multiplex some outputs of thegamma generator and an output of the extra gamma generator, and supply agamma signal of the gamma generator or a gamma signal of the extra gammagenerator to the decoders under control.
 13. The electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein a first magnitude of a source signal output of thefirst display area and a second magnitude of a source signal output ofthe second display area are different from each other.
 14. Theelectronic device of claim 13, wherein a difference between the firstmagnitude and the second magnitude corresponds to a difference between adensity of subpixels of the first display area and a density ofsubpixels of the second display area.
 15. The electronic device of claim1, wherein the display driver IC controls a magnitude of a source signaloutput of the second display area such that colors and luminances of asame content output to the first display area and the second displayarea are shown to be a same as or similar to each other.
 16. Anoperation method for a gamma voltage according to a display area of adisplay panel, the operation method comprises: receiving, by a displaydriver IC, display data from a processor; and while supplying a firstgamma signal set to display a luminance of a first magnitude to a firstdisplay area disposed at a first pixel arrangement density in thedisplay panel, supplying, by the display driver IC, a second gammasignal set to display a luminance of a second magnitude greater than thefirst magnitude to a second display area having a second pixelarrangement density lower than the first pixel arrangement density. 17.The operation method of claim 16, wherein the supplying of the secondgamma signal comprises supplying the second gamma signal having avoltage of a same magnitude in common to a red subpixel, a greensubpixel, and a blue subpixel arranged in the second display area. 18.The operation method of claim 16, wherein the supplying of the secondgamma signal comprises generating the second gamma signal for eachsubpixel disposed in the second display area and supplying the generatedsecond gamma signal for each subpixel to source lines connected with acorresponding subpixel.
 19. The operation method of claim 16, whereinthe supplying of the second gamma signal comprises alternately supplyingthe second gamma signal to odd-numbered gate lines and odd-numberedsource lines arranged in the second display area.
 20. The operationmethod of claim 16, wherein the supplying of the second gamma signalcomprises alternately supplying the second gamma signal to even-numberedgate lines and even-numbered source lines arranged in the second displayarea.